BEFORE
the fateful night of December 3, 1971, when Pakistani submarine PNS
Ghazi was struck and sank off the coast of Vishakhapatnam in the Arabian
Sea, no serious proposal of establishing a museum exclusively for naval
trophies and exhibits had been mooted. But after the incident, various
items/parts belonging to the sunken enemy submarine required an
elaborate and organised display for public view. It was felt that a
naval museum would not only enable the public to appreciate the historic
act of destruction of an important instrument of war of the enemy, but
also provide a glorious glimpse of those ships which had served our Navy
magnificently.

PNS Ghazi still lies
several metres below the sea surface with all the dead bodies on board,
close to Vishakhapatnam. For some reason, it was decided not to float
the vessel or to remove the bodies. It was not practicable for ordinary
skin divers or deep sea divers alone to carry out the arduous task of
removing various retrievable items from the wreck and bring them ashore.
Therefore, a costly alternative of lowering a marine bell for this
purpose was employed. This enabled a group of underwater specialists to
lower themselves on the submarine entrance hatch, enter and search
through the key compartments. The group was successful in bringing out
items like the ship’s log book and the tape recorder with tapes
containing Bhutto’s famous speech. These, along with the vessel’s
lifebuoy that was found floating, were displayed prominently in the
Eastern Naval Command when I was there in 1972.

With the decommissioning of India’s
first aircraft carrier INS Vikrant in 1997, the clamour for converting
the same into a naval museum got louder. The majestic ship has steamed a
total of 4,99,066 nautical miles, about 15 times around the world.
Finally, with the cooperation of the Maharashtra Government, the
220-metre-long Vikrant has been towed close to the oyster rock, off the
Colaba causeway, Mumbai, and converted into a permanent naval museum.
The main public attraction of Vikrant is the flat, expansive length and
breadth of the flight deck, deck-landing mirrors costing crores each, a
giant hanger lift which can lift hundreds of persons at one time and the
ski jump arrangement fitted in lieu of landing and arresting gear on the
flight deck. Further additions to these are likely.

INS Kursura houses the first submarine museum of South-East Asia

The second naval museum is
at Rama Krishna Beach on the east coast near Vishakhapatnam, where the
USSR-built submarine INS Kursura has been beached with all its equipment
and intact hill. The submarine was commissioned on December 18, 1969,
and on completion of its operational service, it was decided to beach
her about 150 metres from the shore line, parallel to the sea shore, in
April, 2000. The operation took 18 months and cost about Rs 4.5 crore.
It was an uphill task. It is rare for a submarine to be physically
hauled and jacked up 18 feet. She now rests on the 85-metre-long
foundation. Fifteen pedestals and concrete blocks have been padded with
neoprene rubber to absorb top pressure. Strong steel angles have been
welded to the pressure hull, one either side, so that the vessel may not
tilt due to sea storms or hurricanes. This location was selected after a
detailed survey of wind and tide by hydrographers.

Interestingly, this is the
first submarine museum in South-East Asia. In the USA, there are two
naval museums, while Russia and the United Kingdom have one each.

Utilisation of the ship’s
hull itself as a museum ultimately pays back the cost of maintaining it
and provides to the public a glimpse into the country’s naval might
and maritime history. Besides, these museums are extremely useful for
familiarisation/training of the new naval entrants.